The present disclosure relates to antennas for motor vehicles and methods for assembling such antennas in a motor vehicle.
Antennas intended to be mounted on motor vehicles are known in the art. Such antennas mainly comprise a base member, an antenna device mounted thereon, and an attaching device for attaching the base member to a part of a vehicle. An external cover is usually provided for covering the antenna device in order to protect the inner parts from damages.
One example of such antennas for motor vehicles where the base member is adapted to be attached to a portion of a vehicle is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,304,614. The base member is attached to the roof of the vehicle by preassembling the base member on top of the roof and then securing the base member thereto through a fastening screw.
The assembly of the antenna on a motor vehicle from the outside has been shown to involve sealing problems. Tightness between the external cover and the antenna device has been shown not to be entirely adequate in all conditions.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,368,609 shows an omnidirectional antenna that can be mounted in a vehicle roof through the use of mounting clips or adhesives. In this case, the antenna is mounted from the inside of the motor vehicle such that it is suspended from the vehicle roof.
Suspended antenna attachments are complex. In addition, even though both inner and outer sealing means are applied, absolute tightness cannot be ensured in all conditions, especially with regard to the base member and the parts of the antenna device mounted thereon.
A need therefore exists for an improved antenna for motor vehicles which may provide high efficiency in sealing while being easy, simple and fast to assemble to a vehicle.